Fractionating column



Dec. 15,1936. H. SUESS FRACTIONATING COLUMN Filed Jan. 7, 1936 Patented Dec. 15, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,064,390 FRAQTIONATING COLUMN Heinrich Suess, Berlin-Tegel, Germany, assignor to Rheinmetall-Borsig Aktiengesellschaft 19 Claims.

In the construction of fractionating columns, especially those designed for small charges, as used in the practice of fractional distillation, the practical arrangement of the boiling trays, the construction, and formation of the boiling chambers or rectifiers, represent considerable difficulty in view of the fact that the space available in the column for the arrangement of the elements above referred to is very restricted. Furthermore, the cleaning of such columns is quite often rather troublesome in view of the difliculty of accessibility to the various parts of the column construction.

Attempts have been made to eliminate the difiiculties above referred to by dividing the fractionating columns into separate units and providing these units with as many boiling trays as could possibly be arranged on the column from the outside thereof. However,'even such an arrangement has its limitations in view of the somewhat restricted space, and the considerable number of flange connections or welding seams complicates the building of such fractionating columns very materially. Furthermore, it should be noted that manholes, or at least hand-holes, must be provided for each boiling tray, and this necessitates additional very undesirable flange connections.

In the usual fractionating column constructions the variation in the number of boiling trays or the variation in the output capacity of such column results in very costly and timestaking operations, and in most cases such alterations as render the columns adaptable for certain specific processes represent problems which cannot be practically solved.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to eliminate the above constructional disadvantages of fractionating columns by providing a vertical hollow shaft construction, at one or more outer sides of which laterally extending chambers are positioned and arranged in staggered relationship with respect to each other.

The laterally extending chambers are provided with boiling trays dividing the same into spaces above and below such trays which are connected with the hollow central shaft of the column. The laterally extending boiling chambers, which are manufactured in separate units and are connected to the central hollow shaft of the fractionating column, render the construction or the various elements easily accessible for cleaning or other purposes.

A further advantage of the present construction resides in the fact that the over-all height of the fractionating column is considerably reduced, and, in view of the ready accessibility of the boiling trays, the same can be spaced very short distances from each other, and notwithstanding such short distance in height between these boiling trays, the vapors have to travel considerable distances in a zig-zag stream through the laterally extending boiling chambers and the hollow shaft of the column. Reduction in efiiciency of the column in view of its restricted over-all height is therefore effectively eliminated.

A further object of the invention is that the construction of the fractionating column as herein referred to prevents fluid particles from being carried along with the vapors, which represents a very objectionable disadvantage of present-day constructions. The lateral deviation of the vapor stream during its passage through the column eliminates the rising of fluid particles as above referred to. 20

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a fractionating column of very simple construction, wherein all unnecessary piping, pipe fittings, and insulation is entirely eliminated. 25

Other and further objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a single shaft fractionating column provided with laterally extending boiling chambers at two sides thereof.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of Figure 1, the section being taken on line 11-11 of the latter figure.

Figure 3 illustrates a front view of the single shaft fractionating column shown in Figure 1.

Figure 4 shows a section taken on line IV-IV of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a partial view of a double shaft fractionating column in a somewhat diagrammatic manner.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on line VI- VI of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of the single shaft fractionating column shown in Figure 1, the section being taken on line VIIVII of Figure 1.

Figure 8 represents a sectional view taken on line VIII-VIII of Figure 9.

Figure 9 is a horizontal sectional view through the laterally extending compartments which form; together with the shaft, the evaporation chamber.

Figure 10 illustrates a hollow shaft or conduit which is partially formed by the fractionating column construction itself, for diverting the head product of the column.

Referring now to the drawing, and especially to Figures 1 to 4 which represent a single shaft fractionating column, I and 2 indicate I-beams forming the hollow center shaft of the column. These I-beams are welded together with their flanges at 3 and 4 to form a hollow shaft 5, as above referred to.

Arranged within the hollow center shaft and vertically spaced from each other are boiling trays B of usual commercial construction, as clearly seen from Figure '7. The center shaft 5 is provided with openings 1 and 8 which are arranged at those sides of the shaft at which the flanges of the I-beams forming the column structure are welded together.

Laterally extending boiling chambers 9, manufactured in separate units and furnished with boiling trays H), are provided with flanges II for connecting these chambers to the hollow shaft adjacent the openings 1 and 8 by means of bolts or the like, as clearly seen in Figure '7. The openings 1 and 8 of the hollow center shaft and the laterally extending boiling chambers 9 are arranged in staggered relation on the center shaft with respect to each other, in such a manner that the boiling trays I0 are in horizontal alignment with the boiling trays 6 carried by the shaft. The boiling trays 9 are further provided with an overflow l2 and a fluid seal I3. In this way the boiling trays 6 on the hollow shaft may be arranged one above the other and may be spaced a very slight distance, without rendering the same inaccessible from the outside because, upon disconnection of the laterally extending boiling chambers, free access may be had to the trays arranged on the center shaft, and the boiling trays within the boiling chambers 9 are also easily accessible when the members 9 are disconnected from the shaft. In this way a very advantageous construction is provided which permits a considerable reduction of the over-all height of the fractionating column.

The shaft 5 is also provided with an evaporation chamber M which is formed by the laterally extending members 15 and I6 and the portion of the center shaft located therebetween, see Figure 8. The members [5 and I6 are connected to the column in a manner similar to the laterally extending members 9. However, members l5 and I6 are not in staggered relation with respect to each other. They form, as before mentioned, the evaporation chamber, and are provided with deflection members I! and I8, and evaporation surfaces l9 and 20 which engage a ring wall 2| arranged within the hollow center shaft. The member [6 is also provided with a fluid seal as indicated at 22.

The raw material to be treated in the fractionating column is introduced into this evaporation compartment and the vapors of the treated material will rise upwardly as indicated by arrows in Figure 8. The deflection members or plates IT and I8, above referred to, serve to prevent the rising of fluid particles with the vapors, because the vapor stream is deflected by these plates, causing a restraining of fluid drops within the evaporation compartment, which otherwise would rise with the vapors to the upper boiling chambers where their presence is not desired. The vapors so produced, as described in reference to Figure 8, rise upwardly within the hollow shaft and pass first into 2.

boiling tray 6a, adjacent to which a reflux compartment 24 provided with a fluid seal 25 is arranged. The reflux compartment 24, which is a detachable unit, is arranged on the hollow center shaft in the same manner as the laterally extending boiling chambers 9, above referred to.

In further carrying on the fractional distillation, the vapors rise from the boiling tray 6a to the next set of boiling trays 6 and I0, the boiling tray 6 being located within the hollow center shaft, while the boiling tray I0 is arranged within the laterally extending chamber 9, as previously described. From the boiling trays 6 and ID the vapors proceed further upwardly in the column to the next boiling tray 6 within the hollow center shaft and the boiling tray I!) in the next laterally extending boiling chamber 9 which is at the opposite side of the center shaft and in staggered relation with respect to the first mentioned boiling chamber. In this manner the vapors proceed in a zigzag stream upwardly in the fractionating column until they reach the top of the column and are passed through a condenser where this so-called overhead product is liquefied.

In view of the fact that the boiling chambers arranged in staggered relationship with respect to each other necessitate that vapors pass in a zig-zag stream upwardly as above referred to, they are freed from any fluid drops or particles which they may carry along in view of such lateral deflection.

Depending upon the requirements of practice in carrying out the process of fractional distillation, any number of compartments 24 or 9 may be used. The fractionating column may therefore only be provided with boiling chambers 9, in addition to the evaporation compartment, as shown in Figure 8, or it may be provided with boiling chambers 9 and reflux compartments 24. In this way the fractionating column may be constructed to serve various special purposes.

The arrangement of Figure 8 has also the advantage that the evaporation compartment may be formed by the parts as described herein, without decreasing the overall height of the apparatus. In other words, the evaporation chamber may be easily increased in size in a lateral direction without affecting thereby the height of the construction of the fractionating column.

The ring wall 2| within the evaporation chamber is provided to permit entry of vapors from the residue which collects in the portion of the fractionating column below the evaporation chamber.

The laterally extending boiling chambers may be of oblong construction, as clearly seen from Figures 1 and 2, although they may also be manufactured in other shapes if this should be found desirable for the requirements of practice. I

It will therefore be seen that by simply uniting two I-beams in the manner hereinbefore described, and by providing opposite sides of the hollow shaft formed thereby with laterally extending boiling chambers and an evaporation chamber, a simple and compact fractionating column structure is obtained which can be very cheaply and simply manufactured. Any number of boiling chambers or other compartments may be attached to the hollow center shaft to form a fractionating column which will be efficient for regular fractional distillation processes, as well as specific processes of this nature, in view of the fact that it is quite simple toalter the arrangement of the boiling chambers or the like in a very short time.

The construction of the fractionating column as set forth herein further permits of an arrangement of stripping columns 26 on said hollow center shaft, in a very simple manner. It is only necessary to cover the outwardly extending flanges of the I-beam members, which form the hollow center shaft, over a desired length with a strip of sheet metal cut to proper size to fit the flanges of the hollow center shaft. These sheet metal strips are then welded to the flanges of the center shaft and their end portions are bent inwardly as seen at 21 in Figure 1, and are welded to the center portion of the I-beam. In this way a compartment for the stripping column is formed. Openings 2B are formed to establish communication between these stripping columns and the hollow center shaft. The stripping columns are provided with either boiling trays or filling material, and may be of the usual construction employed in fractional distillation today. In this way a reduction of the fractionating column itself by incorporation of a. stripping column is eliminated, and the overall height of the fractionating column is not affected in any way by such arrangement. Supporting means for the stripping. column and a separate insulation for the same are obviously not necessary, as this column forms a more or less integral part wth the structure of the fractionating column described herein. The incorporation of stripping columns with the fractionating column is therefore not expensive and incorporation with the structure of Figure 1 is very simple.

The usual compensation of the known types of fractionating columns through which the overhead product is diverted, and which usually consists of a condenser 29 as shown in Figure 1, may be eliminated and improved by arranging the condenser near column. A strip of sheet metal 30 may be welded to the outer flanges of the I-beam at one side of the center column in the manner shown in Figure 10, and in this way a conduit 3i is provided for diverting the overhead product downwardly into a condenser arranged at the base of the fractionating column, as above referred to. Any obstructing structure such as pipes, pipe fittings, and supporting arrangements for the same for carrying off the overhead product may in this way be entirely eliminated and the compact structure of the fractionating column is thereby maintained. Considerable saving in insulating material is obtained because only the fractionating column itself would have to be insulated, and not any pipes or fittings leading from the same and adapted for purposes outlined above.

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate a double shaft fractionating column, the center shaft of which may be formed in a manner similar to that referred to in connection with the construction of Figure 1. However, it must be noted that for forming a double center shaft, three .I-beams will have to be welded together in the manner clearly seen in Figure 6. In this way two hollow shafts 32 and 33 are formed which may. be provided with laterally extending boiling chambers in However, the boiling chambers 9 on each hollow shaft and on one side of the same will have to be staggered with respect to each other, as seen from the base of the fractionating Figure 5, to permit their proper location on the double shaft structure.

In this twin arrangement of fractionating column the processing of 'the residue of the first shaft, which for instance may operateunder atmospheric pressure, may be carried on in the second shaft under vacuum, so that the residue may be divided therein into further fractions. above obviously permits of great saving of construction material in view of the fact that two fractionating columns may in this way be combined into a single unit, performing the work of two separate columns very efficiently. In addition to this saving of construction material for the column .shafts themselves, the usual necessary pipes, pipe fittings, supports, and insulation therefor are absolutely eliminated. The saving of factory space for these twin columns is very considerable, as will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

While in the above reference has been made to the use of I-beams in the construction of the center shaft for these columns, it should be kept in mind that U-channels, or L-channels may also be very advantageously used for the construction of these columns. However, in such instances there are no outer flanges available on the hollow center shaft for the incorporation of stripping columns or overhead product diverting shafts, but in view of the fact that not all of the fractionating columns have to be provided with such additional apparatus, the U-channel or L-channel structure of the center column may in some instances be preferable be" cause it materially reduces the weight of the column structure.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-- 1. A fractionating column comprising, in combination, a shaft structure defining a hollow shaft space, and laterally extending and removable chambers in communication with said hollow shaft space.

2. A fractionating column, comprising, in combination, a shaft structure defining a hollow shaft space, and laterally extending chambers removably connected to said hollow shaft space at opposite sides thereof and in staggered relation with respect to each other.

3. A fractionating column comprising, in combination, a shaft structure defining a hollow shaft space, laterally extending and detachable boiling chambers connected to said hollow shaft space and in communication with the same at opposite sides in staggered relation with respect to each ,other, and laterally extending detachable evaporation chambers at opposite sides of said shaft space.

4. A fractionating column comprising, in combination, a shaft structure defining a plurality of vertical hollow shaft spaces adjacent each other, and laterally extending and detachable chambers in communication with said hollow shaft spaces.

5. A-fractionating column comprising, in combination, a shaft structure defining a plurality of separate hollow shaft spaces, and a plurality of boiling chambers on said shaft structure and in communication with at least one of said separate shaft spaces.

6. A fractionating column construction comprising, in combination, a plurality of I-beams arranged adjacent to each other and welded to- The twin arrangement described gether with their contacting flanges to define a central shaft space, and laterally extending chamber members connected to said beams and in communication with the hollow shaft space for forming evaporation and boiling compartments.

7. A fractionating column construction comprising, in combination, a hollow shaft construction, a plurality of boiling trays arranged within said hollow shaft, and a plurality of boiling chambers detachably secured to the hollow shaft construction and laterally extending therefrom.

8. A fractionating column construction comprising, in .combination, a plurality of beams arranged adjacent each other and welded together with their contacting flanges to form a shaft defining a hollow central shaft space, boiling trays within the shaft, and a plurality of boiling chambers laterally extending from said shaft and in communication with said hollow central shaft space above and below said boiling trays.

9. A distillation column for fractional distillation, comprising, in combination, a plurality of beams welded together with their contacting flanges to form a shaft structure defining a plurality of separate shaft spaces, and laterally extending boiling chambers on said beams and in communication with at least one of said shaft spaces.

10. A fractionating column, comprising, in combination, a plurality of beams welded together with their contacting flanges to form a vertical shaft structure defining a plurality of separate shaft spaces, and horizontally extending boiling chambers for each shaft space in communication with the latter at opposite sides of said beams, the boiling chambers for each shaft space and at one side of said beams being arranged in staggered relation with respect .to each other.

11. A fractionating column comprising, in combination, a plurality of beams welded together with their contacting flanges to form a vertical shaft structure defining a plurality of separate shaft spaces, and horizontally extending boiling chambers for each shaft space in communication with the latter at opposite sides of said beams, the boiling chambers for each shaft space and at one side of said beams being arranged in staggered relation with respect to each other and the boiling chambers of the other side of said beams.

12. A fractionating column comprising, in combination, a plurality of beams welded together to form a central shaft structure, laterally extending boiling chambers on opposite sides of said shaft structure and instaggered relation with respect to each other, and a plurality of laterally extending evaporation compartments on said beams.

13. A fractionating column construction comprising a hollow central shaft, laterally extending boiling chambers in communication with said hollow central shaft, boiling trays within said shaft, a; laterally extending evaporation chamber on said shaft for evaporation of raw material, and a plurality of laterally extending reflux compartments in communication with said hollow central shaft and provided with overflow means and a fluid seal for guiding vapors rising from said evaporation chamber through said boiling trays within said shaft.

14. A fractionating column construction, comprising, in combination, a plurality of I-beams arranged adjacent each other and welded together with their contacting flanges to define a central shaft space, laterally extending boiling chambers on said beams and in communication with said central shaft space, and a strip of sheet metal welded across the upper end of said beams and between the flanges of one of the said beams opposite said shaft space to form a downwardly extending diverting shaft, the latter being in communication with the central shaft space of the column.

15. A fractionating column construction comprising, in combination, a plurality of beams arranged adjacent each other and welded together with their contacting flanges to form a hollow central shaft, and a plurality of boiling chambers laterally extending from said shaft and in staggered relation with respect to each other.

16. A distillation column for fractional distillation, comprising, in combination, a plurality of beam members welded together with their flanges to form' a hollow central shaft, boiling trays within said shaft, and laterally extending boiling chambers on said beam members and communicating with said hollow central shaft above and below said boiling trays, said boiling chambers being arranged on said beams in staggered relation with respect to each other.

17. A fractionating column comprising, in combination, a shaft structure defining a hollow shaft space, laterally extending chambers in separate units and connected to the outside of said hollow shaft space and in communication with the same, and a plurality of trays arranged within said hollow shaft space and within said laterally extending chambers.

18. A fractionating column comprising, in combination, a shaft structure defining a hollow shaft space, laterally extending boiling chambers connected to the outsides of said hollow shaft space and in communication with the same at opposite sides in staggered relation with respect to each other, a plurality of boiling trays within said hollow shaft space, and a boiling tray within said boiling chambers.

19. A fractionating column construction comprising, in combination, a hollow shaft construction, a plurality of boiling chambers removably secured to the hollow shaft construction and laterally extending therefrom, a plurality of horizontally extending boiling trays arranged within said hollow shaft and within said boiling chambers, the boiling trays of said hollow shaft and of said boiling chambers being arranged in the same level, the spaces adjacent the boiling trays within said hollow shaft and said boiling chambers being in communication with each other.

HEINRICH SUESS. 

